SHAH ALAM, July 27 — The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has stressed that a proposal to build a three-storey commercial data centre in Kota Damansara remains under assessment and has not received any approval.
As of July 21, MBPJ had received about 290 formal objections to the proposed development along Jalan Rimba Riang 9/6, involving 18 privately owned land lots adjacent to a government road reserve.
MBPJ said the public feedback period, which ended today, was extended after the local authority instructed the developer to correct errors on the original public notice board.
According to the council, members of the public had complained that the notice displayed an incorrect reference number and inaccurate contact details for the responsible officer, making it difficult for residents to submit their views.
"Following this, MBPJ issued an official directive on July 15 requiring the developer to rectify the errors, extending the public feedback period to July 21-27 from the original July 9-15," it said, as reported by StarMetro.
On July 17, MBPJ also issued notices seeking feedback from 11 homeowners living within a 20-metre radius of the proposed site. Similar notices were sent to Sungai Buloh MP Datuk Seri Ramanan Ramakrishnan, Kota Damansara state assemblyman Izuan Kasim and the MBPJ Zone 3 councillor's office.
The council said the application has yet to be tabled before the One Stop Centre (OSC) Committee and will only be considered after all public feedback and comments from the relevant technical agencies have been received.
MBPJ said a development briefing would be held within 30 days after the public notice period ends to explain the proposal to everyone who submitted feedback or objections.
According to the council, the proposed site is designated for business and services, as well as a transport reserve, under the Petaling Jaya Local Plan 2 (Amendment 3).
It added that the suitability of the development would be assessed based on the 2024 Data Centre Planning Guidelines, which require a 50-metre buffer zone between data centre buildings and residential lots.
Meanwhile, residents claimed they only became aware of the proposal after noticing the public notice board and questioned the short timeframe initially given to submit objections.
Section 9 Phase 1 resident Mohd Razif Mohd Lazim said he only noticed the notice while taking a walk on July 14, a day before the original objection deadline stated on the board, before alerting the residents' coalition.
Another resident, Foo Kwan Pheng, claimed the proposed development extended beyond privately owned land into the government road reserve.
He said any development on a road reserve requires approval from the state government and could affect future road-widening plans.
The Kota Damansara Residents' Coalition, representing more than 500 households, also submitted a formal objection, arguing that the proposed project is too close to residential areas.
Its spokesperson, Narindera Pall Singh, said the coalition's main concerns include noise from 24-hour operations, heat emissions, high energy consumption, the impact on the Kota Damansara Community Forest, increased traffic and road safety.
He also questioned the initial seven-day objection period, saying it differed from the 21-day period provided for under the Town and Country Planning Act 1976.
Separately, MBPJ Zone 3 councillor Muhamad Shazwan Suhaimi and Sungai Buloh MP Datuk Seri R Ramanan confirmed that they had each submitted formal objection letters to MBPJ.
They also urged the council to make all technical reports public and to hold a public hearing before any decision is made.
On July 23, Media Selangor reported that Kota Damansara state assemblyman Izuan Kasim would raise the proposed data centre development during the Selangor State Legislative Assembly sitting, which begins on August 3.
He also confirmed that he had submitted a formal objection to MBPJ following residents' concerns over the proposed commercial data centre near a residential neighbourhood.
According to Izuan, residents' views and concerns should be given due consideration in any development proposal that could affect the local community.
